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Cult brands fall into the “benign” cult category where the relationship between the leader and the customers is mutually beneficial; the leader makes sales and the customer achieves a sense of belonging. Unlike leaders of destructive cults, benign cult leaders do not abuse their followers but instead they value their followers’ feedback.

Cult branding is the process of turning a company, person, place, or organization into an entity with devoted followers who show their commitment to the brand in a visible manner. They create a strong brand loyalty in the market, which is important for a business because it determines whether customers will return or whether they will go to a competitor. Magnetic brands require high customer loyalty and extremely enthusiastic clients who are completely devoted to the brand. Cult brands are a step up from magnetic brands, the customers are not only very attracted to the brand but they also feel like they fit in when they buy specific branded products.

Cult brands are formed when regular companies begin to set themselves apart from their competitors. They begin by creating a product that is noticeably different than those existing in the same genre or providing a service in a newer, more creative way. The new product should have a reputation in the market for seeming to have no equal, the public believes that no other product or service can compare to this revolutionary creation. Most successful brands with cult-like followings start with an idea that goes in the opposite direction as the market. For example, Oprah Winfrey’s talk show ratings began to fall in 1994 when it seemed the public wanted to see more of people yelling at each other. Rather than changing her show, Oprah decided to keep the same, professional tone of her show while changing the content to more tabloid-like material. Cult brands gain power from their competitors, the more they set themselves apart, the more appealing their product becomes compared to the others.

Cult brands sell a lifestyle, they create communities for their customers, whether they are online or in person, these companies are highly inclusive and welcome anyone to their brand. These companies create brand fan pages or encourage customers to create them like the BlackBerry fan pages to promote a sense of belonging to the brand community. They encourage personal freedom, which sets them apart from other brands on the market, while most companies provide customers with a product; cult brands encourage shoppers to customize their products. These brands encourage customers to “adopt” a brand as their own (my iPod, my IKEA furniture) Followers of such brands do not just see these companies as product or service providers, but as a support group or as a surrogate family that also sells them things. Customers develop a strong emotional attachment to cult brands because they receive a sense of belonging in what appears to be a cold and distant world to some.